Creating a connected network (Connectivity) within Out of the Box Software

[AmyMarshall1]

Hi
We are looking at moving to ESRI GIS, we are a small electricity distribution company. At the moment I am investigating how we would build a connected network in the GIS - I am looking at ArcFM, but I want to know if anyone has successfully built a connected distribution network without ArcFM or similar (with the tools available in ESRI).

What tools, extensions did you use? Was it successful? Is this even possible?

We have had a brief look at "Create Geometric Network" but are unsure if this is the right thing to use as it looks like you cant vertically stack assets with this (and we have a number of assets that are on one x,y).

Any info you have would be great, I have ESRI experience (but I am new to the electricity industry) and my colleagues have industry experience but not ESRI!

Thanks

[MattChapman]

Yes, it is possible, but you might look into using a certified ESRI Partner who specializes in GIS applications for electric utilities. Check out futuragis[dot]com - if you've already purchased ArcGIS Desktop, you may be able to continue using it.

[SSMIC3038]

Persoanlly I've been administering a heavily modified ArcFM electrical distribution GIS data model for 13 years, you could certainly make your own model with out of box tools but boy would you need alot of time and knowledge in a few disiplines, it would be a long and difficult undertaking.
The ArcFM model that we use is worth the money, it's very comprehensive.